A Date with David

In August 2013, I received a grant to work on a project in Italy. An ex-romantic partner volunteered to help me document my work there.
The months before our trip were filled with romantic messages, plans about our trip and flirtatious talks about him moving to Minnesota to be with me. I was looking forward to our trip. I bought new dresses with the thought of him seeing me in them. I thought about the possibility of a future together. I dreamed about us falling in love again in Italy.

But when I arrived in Italy I discovered online that he was in a relationship that he’d kept secret from me. I didn’t understand. I needed a way to deal with my heartache. I needed a way to take care of myself.

I thought of David. The man that had defeated Goliath with a slingshot and rock, a symbol of strength and courage. David was the ideal man envisioned by Michelangelo and replicated by many. The thought of the perfect man existing and living in Florence inspired me to look for him. In a ritual like a catholic procession, I climbed up to Piazzale of Michelangelo to visit him everyday. I wrote him love letters daily. I handed out and posted flyers all over the city in the hopes of meeting him.